Two incidents that the BIU has dealt with in recent months have underlined the importance of respecting biathlon’s rules in order to maintain the sport’s integrity. In one case, an Athlete Support Personnel member participated at an IBU World Cup event using false accreditation. This issue presents safety and security risks to the wider biathlon family, especially in a sport where firearms are included. It is imperative that access to competition areas is properly controlled. Consequently, the BIU recommended sanctions for both the Athlete Support Personnel member and the athlete whose accre ..read more

The BIU held a two-day workshop for National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs) in Salzburg this week, as part of a long-term commitment to strengthening co-operation with its closest partners. The goal of the workshop was to exchange experiences, discuss further sharing of resources and explore how to ensure that the quality of our anti-doping work remains high and identify any weaknesses in the system. The fight against doping is not only about testing, as the BIU stressed during the workshop and in this podcast interview with Greg McKenna, head of the BIU. Intelligence gathering and sharing ..read more

The World Anti-Doping Agency has issued an updated List of Prohibited Substances and Methods that will come into force on 1 January 2024. Among the changes, the use of tramadol as a painkiller is now prohibited in-competition. The amendment was made after research studies, funded by WADA, confirmed its potential to enhance sports performance. The recommended ‘washout period’ for tramadol will be communicated by WADA before 1 January 2024. The ‘washout period’ refers to the time from the last administered dose to the time of the start of the in-competition period. Athletes and their entourages ..read more

“Be your own best friend”, says BIU athlete ambassador Chloe Levins. With the new season fast approaching, the BIU spoke to its recently-appointed athlete ambassador, USA’s Chloe Levins, about preparing mentally and physically for the demands ahead, in its latest podcast interview. Chloe has some great advice about eating healthily, the use of techniques such as visualisation, and how to avoid illnesses, such as cold and infections, when travelling to races. Chloe also emphasises the importance for mental health of being able to switch off from racing. She herself makes sure that she always t ..read more

The BIU has made some important changes to its online platform for reporting wrongdoing in biathlon. Among the changes, the platform has been made more user-friendly, including its availability in three languages: English, Russian and German. What’s more, you can reach us via telephone and email. Feel free to use BIU Reporting Hotlineyour own language when sending an email of submitting a report. And it’s not just about doping. The hotline is open to report any suspected breaches of the IBU’s governance, ethics and integrity rules. The platform plays a crucial role in the BIU’s campaign ..read more

A podcast interview with Cornelia Blank, professor and deputy head of the Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism at the Private University for Health Sciences and Health Technology UMIT TIROL in Hall in Tirol, Austria. In our latest podcast interview we spoke to Cornelia Blank about athletes’ vulnerability, in particular to doping. What is athlete vulnerability, what influences it, how can coaches and others in authority spot the signs and how can we make athletes less vulnerable? The podcast echoes a session on athlete vulnerability led by Cornelia during the IBU A ..read more

The BIU rounded off its Summer of Respect campaign with a three-day outreach programme for athletes and support personnel at the Summer Biathlon World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia. The aim was to provide information and education on respect in biathlon at the Championships between 24 and 26 August, 2023. The Summer of Respect campaign was initiated to help ensure the integrity of Biathlon by encouraging biathletes to show respect for the things that matter most in our sport. Respect has been defined as: ‘Treating others as you would want to be treated. This reflects the qualitie ..read more

The BIU spoke to Allison Forsyth, a former Alpine skier who was herself a victim, about safeguarding and Safe Sport.  She discussed her own experience of abuse, how the culture of sport, with frequent travel, can make athletes vulnerable and whether sports organisations are getting better at tackling it.  She also spoke of the need for change in the culture of hiring coaches, and how victims might not even know they’re being abused.  Listen to the full interview here ..read more

A podcast interview with our newly-appointed Athlete Ambassador Lovro Planko In the second in our series of podcast interviews with the BIU’s two new athlete ambassadors. Slovenia’s Lovro Planko spoke to us about why becoming a BIU athlete ambassador enables him to give back to the sport. He also told us how he avoids forgetting to register his whereabouts and advised young athletes facing their first anti-doping test not to be nervous, and relax! And – as the BIU launches its Summer of Respect campaign – Lovro told us what respect in biathlon means to him. Click here to listen to the intervi ..read more

The BIU has just appointed two new athlete ambassadors. We spoke first to USA’s Chloe Levins about her motivation in becoming a BIU athlete ambassador, about the role of the athlete ambassador and what athlete ambassadors can do to help to ensure the integrity of biathlon. Chloe discussed with us the importance of athletes using our hotline to report any wrongdoing (e.g., breaches of the safeguarding rules, doping and match-fixing), her research into the history of how performance-enhancing techniques were utilized in Olympic sports as leverage for political power and what golf can teach othe ..read more